PM to address municipal heads at launch of flagship projects

Updated: Saturday, June 20, 2015, 17:11 [IST]

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New Delhi, Jun 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address elected heads of 500 civic bodies from across the country here on June 25, when he will launch the three flagship schemes for urban revamp, including smart cities and housing for all.

The three big ticket projects - Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Housing for All, now named as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), are worth Rs four lakh crore.

The event will see Modi addressing Mayors and Chairpersons of selected 500 corporations and municipalities to outline his vision for emerging urban India, including challenges to be overcome, and a two-day brainstorming session involving the stakeholders and experts.

"It marks a red-letter day in the history of urban development in the country with the simultaneous launch of AMRUT, PMAY and Smart Cities Mission," Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told PTI.

This reflects the integrated and convergence based approach of the government towards inclusive urban development. While AMRUT seeks to ensure basic infrastructure, PMAY enables the urban poor to own decent and affordable houses, he said.

The Prime Minister will also release operational guidelines for the three urban missions besides unveiling logos and tag lines, according to a senior Urban Development Ministry official.

"The two components - AMRUT and PMAY - enable the present cities emerge as smart cities in due course. Under Smart Cities Mission, quality of life will be enhanced in 100 identified cities and towns by ensuring quality infrastructure, improving services through application of smart solutions and enabling a clean and sustainable environment," Naidu said.

Ministers of Urban Development, Municipal Affairs and Housing from all the states and Union Territories besides elected heads of 500 municipal bodies, principal secretaries dealing with urban matters, commissioners of municipal bodies, other senior officials will attend the launch and the two-day intensive interaction on new urban initiatives that will follow.

Representatives of research and academic institutions, technical and handholding agencies, bilateral and multilateral organisations, urban planners and experts will also participate.

Ambassadors and High Commissioners of 15 countries who have shown keen interest to be associated with the Smart Cities Mission and other urban development efforts of the Government have also been invited for the launch of the three Missions.